This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Greed and evidence
Greed is one of those things we look at as a motive. With most of my files, there is no motive. My clients may be investigated or charged with a drinking-driving offence, and I suppose the motive might be to get home, but typically the issue is either a simple mistake, a substance abuse problem, or an innocent person wrongly accused. I always think the moral culpability of people who are motivated by greed is somehow the most offensive. Jealousy can be somewhat understandable, but greed is just a high level of selfishness.
This week, we are looking at three weird and wacky cases where police officers found themselves facing criminal charges because of greed.
Detroit Officer Arrested on Camera Taking $600
A Detroit Police Department officer was arrested inside the city’s 6th Precinct after internal affairs reviewed body-camera footage showing him allegedly taking about $600 from a woman during a March traffic stop. The department publicly stated the strongest evidence was his own body camera recording. He was suspended with pay pending further review and possible charges; as of last reporting, prosecutors were reviewing a warrant. The officer had been on the force since 2021.
Women often find themselves in a precarious position when they’re pulled over by a male officer at a traffic stop. Officers will typically comment on the fact that a woman is nervous when they’re stopped to suggest they might be trying to hide something and to intentionally make them yet more nervous. There are very good reason to be nervous.
When it comes down to the evidence of an accused and the evidence of an officer, the concern is that the officer’s evidence is likely to be accepted. There is some protection that comes from being on camera. Unfortunately, in B.C., despite body cams, in most circumstances, no body cam evidence is ever disclosed.
Former Fresno Detective Accused of Stealing $60,000 from Evidence
In Fresno, a former police detective was arrested in an FBI investigation alleging he signed out about $60,000 in confiscated cash from the department’s evidence room and kept it for himself. The investigation prompted civil claims against the city as well as criminal charges. The officer was a 10-year veteran, and city documents show the alleged theft involved routine handling of cash seized in prior investigations.
This is an officer who gave up a good career with the police because he thought stealing from the evidence locker was easy money. He probably also persuaded himself that it was ill-gotten money. It certainly was ill-gotten money when he apparently took it from the evidence locker.
Former Campton Hills Chief and Officers Indicted for Stealing Guns from Evidence
In Illinois, a grand jury returned an indictment against the former police chief, two former officers, and a current officer of the Campton Hills Police Department for stealing firearms from evidence. Authorities allege the group removed guns that had been held as evidence and sold or disposed of them improperly. Local prosecutors said the case reflects a concerted pattern of misusing departmental access to evidentiary property.
Gun theft by sworn personnel strikes a particular chord because it involves illegal removal of weapons entrusted to police custody. This is a circumstance where greed was likely the central factor, but putting seized guns back on the street then puts the society at further risk.
The opinion of the masses
Many people hold the police in high regard, not wanting to question them. Recent events in the U.S. have reminded us once again that policing authorities should be held to the highest standards. Some of us are perpetually cynical of the police. Some of us try to deal with it on a case-by-case basis because every police officer is different. One thing that is consistent, it seems, is that people can be motivated by what they perceive as easy money.
To be generous, throughout the course of human evolution, we have had to be on the lookout for resources for survival. The modern day version of resources might be the police evidence locker for some. And so on that basis, it would be almost a compulsion. But I still think steeling as a police officer is more morally blameworthy than many of the driving offences that come across my desk.
We’ll see you next Wednesday with some more weird and wacky cases.
